Bengaluru, Jan 9: (DHNS)The High Court on Thursday granted an interim stay on the construction of the new party office by Janata Dal (S) at the land allotted to it on lease by the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) at Vyalikaval in Bengaluru.

The petitioner, K G Chandrashekar Bhat, had moved the High Court challenging the grant of land measuring one acre and one gunta adjoining Chowdiah Memorial Hall by the BBMP to the political party, which vacated its premises in Gandhinagar, following the Supreme court directions.

The petitioner has contended that the land in question was granted to his mother Subbalakshmamma, who served the Mysore Royal family in 1950 by the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore and sought to quash the grant of lease. “This being a private land the same cannot be leased out to a political party,” the petitioner contended.

Justice B V Nagarathna, who heard the matter, has stayed the construction work and has ordered a status quo. Following a memorandum by the party supremo, H D Deve Gowda, on December 27, last year, the BBMP, in its Council meeting, had approved the grant of land on December 30, for an annual rent of Rs 1,000.